Dominos Pizza is taking chicken in a new direction with their pizza-topped Specialty Chicken. It’s so ridiculous that I had to double check that the press release wasn’t issued on April 1st.
Specialty Chicken from Domino’s is the best pizza chain innovation since Pizza Hut stuck a hot dog in its crust. There’s really nothing all that special about it, though. They took the same chicken bites they’ve been slinging for years, pushed them together in a pile, then covered them with toppings from their specialty pizzas. So are they worth the hype?
I’m fully willing to admit that I eat more Dominos pizza than anyone should, especially considering I live near multiple amazing pizza joints. I’ve had their chicken a few times before, and it’s just OK. They’re standard boneless chicken bites. Not great; not bad. The Specialty Chicken, on the other hand, is fantastic. Sure it’s the same old chicken, but somehow adding in extra toppings turns it into a pizza party in your mouth.
I ordered the Spicy Jalapeno-Pineapple and Sweet BBQ Bacon for lunch today, but they also have Crispy Bacon & Tomato and Classic Hot Buffalo. Did I need that much chicken? No. Did I want it? No. These are the sacrifices I’m willing to make for the good people of the internet. The former is “topped with sweet and spicy mango-habanero sauce (a standard Domino’s dipping sauce), a blend of cheese made with mozzarella and cheddar, jalapeno and pineapple.” The latter is “topped with sweet and smoky BBQ sauce (again, they’re standard), a blend of cheese made with mozzarella and cheddar, and crispy bacon.”
Each order comes with 12 pieces of chicken. Contrary to what their pictures will lead you to believe, they aren’t beautifully spaced and delicately topped. They’re essentially chicken bites smashed into a log, coated in sauce, and held together with melted cheese. The Hawaiian-esque one will likely not be a repeat order because I forgot how much I hated that sauce, but the BBQ Chicken tasted like Jesus took the express-calator directly from heaven to my door to deliver it. Who, other than KFC when they invented the Double Down, knew that bacon and fried chicken went together so well?
While these seem like novelty items, Specialty Chicken has couple major things going for it. For one, you can get your flavor fix without being the douchebag who wastes his order on a BBQ Chicken Pizza. BBQ sauce shouldn’t be anywhere near an actual pizza. You also can bypass judgement if your friends are steadfastly against pineapple on pizza. The other big plus is that you get 12 pieces of chicken for the same $6 that eight cost, not to mention all the stuff on top. Fast food has never been more fiscally responsible.
If you saw somewhere that Domino’s now serves pizza with chicken crust, don’t believe it. That’s not the case. Loaded Chicken Bites would be a much more accurate description. They aren’t going to blow your mind, but when you’re drunk, high, or need delivery in under 30 minutes, these ugly logs are worth their weight in bacon.